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Author: Brian Johns

A week ago, I taught my 2,000th private lesson since moving to the Toronto area in June of 2007. While living in Columbus, Ohio, I had taught private lessons in Cooper Ryu as well as Modern Arnis. I did not

When talking with others about Filipino Martial Arts, I have heard the following: “It’s not like you’re going to get into a stick fight out there.” “You’re not going to carry a stick out there anyway.” “Why would I learn

As an instructor, I often tell my students that the greatest threat that they need to worry about isn’t the street level mugger. “The greatest threat is what you see in the mirror.” In other words, YOU. I saw a

If you are not able to see this video, click here. First, palis palis is a Filipino term meaning to pass or sweep an attack from one side to the other. The late Professor Presas first learned this as a

If you are not able to view the snaking video, click here. First off, snaking is a technique where the driver inserts the cane around the defender’s wrist, enabling the driver to either control or disarm the defender. Ideally, the

If you are not able to see this sweepstroke video, click here. Let’s get a couple things out of the way. The purpose of the sweep stroke is to drive the punyo into the opponent’s face. Done properly, the sweep

If you are not able to view this “attacking” video, please click here. To be clear, the term “attacking” refers to a mindset in self-defense. This mindset can encompass “counter-attacking” as well. In other words, your response to an attack

If you are not able to view this “Rompida” video, please click here. Rompida is a striking technique common to Filipino Martial Arts, where the player strikes straight down, turns his stick hand, and strikes straight up. The player then

If you are not able to view this #5 Poke video, click here. The theme of the above video is two-fold. First, the feeder must respect the defender by delivering an honest to God #5 thrust to the abdomen. The

If you are not able to view this “telegraphing” video, please click here. Telegraphing movements is a common error in the martial arts. What is “telegraphing”? To me, telegraphing denotes extraneous or preparatory moves before the intended technique. In boxing